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‘3 militants’ killed in encounter in Lawaypora

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 12/31/2020 12:57:36 PM

Families allege the men were innocent, “pick-up”and killed

SRINAGAR, Dec 30: Four days after the J&K Police indicted an Army Captain and two of his “local informers” in a detailed charge-sheet for a fake encounter of three labourers in Shopian in July last, families of “three militants killed in an encounter” on the outskirts of Srinagar today have alleged that their sons were innocent.
Security forces on Wednesday claimed three local militants were killed in an encounter at Lawaypora on the outskirts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.
Families of the slain, however, rebutted the forces’ claim and said the youth killed in the encounter were civilians. The families which held a protest outside police control room in Srinagar said that their sons were at home till yesterday morning and had been “picked up” when they left home.
Stone pelting was also reported in the area even after the operation ended on Wednesday.
The encounter started on Tuesday evening after the J&K police, the army and the CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in the locality close to the national highway after inputs about the presence of militants, officials said.
They said that the army had received the inputs, and subsequently an operation was launched by joint forces in the area.
By late night, police officials said the operation was stopped and all the entry and exit points towards the area were completely sealed. The army claimed the militants killed in the encounter were planning a big attack on the national highway.
One news agency, KNO, quoted an unnamed police official saying that one AK-47 riffle, two pistols and a few grenades were recovered from the killed militants. a police officer said the “killed militants” were repeatedly offered surrender but they refused. “One of them lobbed grenade at the outset. Two of the killed were hardcore militants with one of them being a cousin brother of killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Rayees Kachroo,” he said, wishing not to be named and added that the “Third one may have been a new militant recruit and families may not have been knowing about his activities.”
Army on ‘encounter’
At a press briefing later today, General Officer Commanding (GoC) Kilo Force HS Sahi said, “We had been getting inputs about militant movement on the national highway.
He said that the identity and affiliation of the killed trio is yet to be known as police is trying to find out to which outfit they belonged to. Addressing a joint press conference at 2 Rashtiya Rifles headquarters at Zainakote, HMT, Srinagar, GoC Kilo Force said that in the past one week, five militants including a Pakistani national were killed in two separate gunfights in north Kashmir.
“Since past many days, intelligence inputs were pouring in continuously about the movement of militants on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. Yesterday, we developed leads and came to know that militants are hiding in a house right opposite to Noora hospital at Lawaypora in HMT area,” Sahi added.
The GOC said, “The operation was launched last evening after getting inputs that militants were inside a house close to the national highway. They were asked to surrender, however, they responded with firing and the operation was suspended for the night. When the operation was resumed in the morning, they were again given an offer to surrender. However, they again started firing and hurled grenades at the forces, which gave us an indication they had no intention to surrender.”
“This was a clean operation and there was no causality to the government forces,” said GoC Sahi, who was flanked by commander 10 sector RR Naresh Mishra and SP West Shehzad Saliar besides other officials of army and police.
“The operation ended at 11:30 am. The bodies of three killed were retrieved and police is identifying them,” he said. Asked whether it was clear to which outfit they belonged to, he said: “So far it is not clear. It is been an hour only since the gunfight ended, police is verifying their identity and affiliation,” he said.
To a query why militants are choosing Srinagar outskirts, he said: “Militants choose Srinagar outskirts or highways to carry out attacks on government forces to get maximum publicity. The nature of ammunition used by the militants in today’s gunfight, suggests they were planning a big strike on the highway.”
He said that another reason why militants choose Srinagar outskirts is because the area has congested locality, lanes, and by-lanes, “they perhaps feel, these areas are safe heaven for them.” “But our intelligence grid is very strong and will not allow to carry out any major strike in these areas. 26 January is coming and they may try to play some mischief, but we are alert and will foil their all plans.”
Asked whether the operation has been called off, the army officer said that the gunfight has ended and the traffic that was divert is also being allowed to ply on the road again.
Families of slain men
Families of the three youth killed in the encounter identified them as Zubair Ahmad from Turkawangam Shopian, Ajaz Maqbool and Athar Mushtaq from Putrigam Pulwama.
The families also said that the killed youth were not militants and two of the three youth killed had left their homes yesterday only for some work.
“Yesterday at 10 A.M, he had tea with me and I swear about it. I don’t know where he was brought down from Sumo. Is this what is going to happen in Kashmir. Is this democracy? Is this the governor Raj? Kill me. Why you killed him. He was a student,” said Bashir Ahmad Ganie, grandfather of Aijaz Maqbool, one of the men killed, according to local news agency GNS.
“Why was he killed? Was he a terrorist?” he asked, adding, “(Aijaz) is the son of a policeman Mohammad Maqbool Ganie, who is posted in Ganderbal,” the elderly man was quoted as saying by a local news gathering agency Global News Service (GNS). “Tell us why our son was killed. If they don’t, let them send task force and kill us all at home,” the elderly man said.
Besides, Aijaz Mushtaq from Putrigam Pulwama, families of two others—Ather Mushtaq Wani (class 11th student as per family) son of Mushtaq Ahmad Wani from Bellow Pulwama and Zubair Ahmad Lone (carpenter) from Turkewagan Shopain—also protested and claimed they are innocents. Police could not be immediately contacted for the comments even as on Twitter it said that three militants were killed in the gunfight, GNS reported.
The names were revealed only by the families and have not been officially revealed by the police so far.
The families of the two youth from Pulwama said that they were students and had left their home yesterday for filling a form for tuition classes. They alleged that the boys were picked up and then killed in an encounter. Videos of the family members making these claims were circulated on the social media sites.
Reacting to one of these, showing women saying that their son had gone out yesterday to fill a university form, Former chief minister and Peoples’ Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted that matter should be probed.
“Worrying that in the past few months after the Shopian fake encounter other families too in J&K have alleged that their sons were innocent & killed in a staged encounter. Authorities need to come clean on this,” tweeted Mehbooba along with a video of protesting relatives of the youth killed in encounter.